Initial Review of CDM 2015

The HSE has now published the draft regualtions, a legal guide and the CITB have issued 6 new guides on the various duty holders under the regualtions. CDM coordinators are removed as a seperate statutory role with the duties transferring to the Principal Designer. We will  be looking to support Principal Designers in their additional duties, as sub consultants.

Clients may be individual or organisation and continue to need to provide information to contractors undertaking works and ensuring that information about the project is made available and passed out to all involved. There is a continuation of their obligation to ensure that the welfare arrangements are in place and that an additional duty to ensure that the Principal Designer and Principal Contractor CARRY OUT their duties. Does this imply a monitoring role ?

An inclusion to the new regulations is every homeowner now falls within the scope of the regualtions. but the HSe see the home owners duties automatically assigned to the contractor( where just 1 contractor( trade) is present or to the Principal contractor where there is more than one trade. So now a project requires a nominated Principal Contractor where there is more than one trade present and a Principal Designer. Therefore a bathroom conversion requiring electrician, plaster, builder, plumber will need one trade to take on the safety planning and arrangements.

Principal Designers, Plan, manage, monitor and coordinate the health and safety in the preconstruciton phase of a project. prepare information to duty holders , liaise with the principal contractor to helo coordination of the construction phase.

Principal Contractor, appointed by the Client to coordinate the construction work where it involves more thant one contractor. prepares the construction phase plan, organises those contractors on the project coordianting their work. 


Contractors , those businesses that actually do the work, are responsible for ensuring the safety of their own employees and those affected by their work.

Workers ,  the labour that gets the job done. They should be consulted on matters which affect their safety, report problems cooperate with others and take care of their own safety.

More to follow .....